


hearts on fire, open skies

by ackermanx



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Tanabata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: "...And that's all for today. Anyone else have something to add?""I'd like to add - " Kazunari reaches into the pockets of his jacket, pulls out five neatly folded pieces of paper, drops them in the middle of the group huddle - "this."Tenma reaches for one, opens it, frowns."A flyer? For...Tanabata?"
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	hearts on fire, open skies

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote most of this not realizing that there's actual tanabata themed summer cards! and then I read the backstages for those and realized how sad it was that summer didn't get to go together so (shoves canon under my bed) here's how summer troupe can still win <3
> 
> thanks to my brother, summerlover42069, for being Really Really excited about this, and again to all of esheep for suffering through me posting a million screenshots. love y'all, please enjoy!

"I'm baaack!"

Kazunari walks into his room, sees Muku crying on the floor, and immediately starts panicking.

...It takes an embarrassingly long time to clear up the misunderstanding (who  _ would _ be good at dealing with sudden crying? no, don't answer that question), but eventually Muku does stop sniffling long enough to show Kazunari what he had been reading.

"It's based off of the traditional Orihime and Hikoboshi story," he explains, holding out a well-worn manga. "E-except it's set in modern day, and both leads are female! It's really good - um, I guess the ending got to me more than I thought it would…"

"Hey, hey, no worries, Mukkun!" Kazunari grins. "It's that time of year again, huh?"

"Mhm! But…"

Muku's eyes involuntarily drift towards the wall separating their room and Tenma's.

Tenma. Right.   


The closer that Summer Troupe had gotten, the more they realized just how much of life their leader had missed out on. Summer camps, school trips, get-togethers with friends - the list was, unfortunately, long. So it was the troupe's payment, in a way, to thank Tenma for being their leader; he would give them guidance, and they would make sure he got to be a seventeen-year-old.

A thought strikes Kazunari.

He bolts upright, gives Muku the tightest hug he can muster, and scrambles to his feet. "I've got an idea!" Kazunari yells on his way out the door, leaving Muku to wave at his retreating figure, dazed and confused.

* * *

"...And that's all for today. Anyone else have something to add?"

_ My turn,  _ Kazunari thinks. He stands. Clears his throat. Watches Tenma's eyebrows twitch.

"I'd like to add - " he reaches into the pockets of his jacket, pulls out five neatly folded pieces of paper, drops them in the middle of the group huddle - "this."

Tenma reaches for one, opens it, frowns.

"A flyer? For...Tanabata?"

Kumon scans it once and his entire face lights up. "Hey! That's the festival that nii-chan and I always go to! Are we all gonna go this year?"

"Well...I can ask the director if the other troupes can come too, but."

Kazunari sits back down and leans in conspiratorially. "Wouldn't it be nice to go to a festival for fun? Just Summer Troupe? No worries about performances, just guys bein' dudes, basking in those summer vibes!"

Tenma narrows his eyes. "Oi, if this is another one of your plans to get a date somehow - "

"So little faith in me! I'm hurt!" But Kazunari reaches across to smack Tenma's shoulder anyway, in a way that he hopes will be some sort of reassurance. "Nah, Tenten, it'll just be us boys for the night."

Kumon is practically radiating light from how excited he is, Misumi is muttering something under his breath that sounds like "new triangles", Yuki and Muku are already deep in discussion over proper attire. Kazunari looks around the circle, feeling rather proud of himself, and his eyes finally land on Tenma.

Tenma, who's alternating between looking at the rest of the group and looking at the flyer in his hand. Whose eyes betray his excitement but whose body betrays his nervousness, turning the paper over and over. Yuki eventually calls him out on it, and Tenma snaps something back in response, but Kazunari knows what he saw.

_ Yes! _ he thinks, internally high-fiving himself.  _ This is going to be so, so cool! _

* * *

Muku circles the date on his and Kazunari's calendar, and the days seem to fly by from there.

Summer Troupe doesn't have a performance coming up, so not all their free time needs to be dedicated to practice. Which is a good thing, because there's just  _ so much _ to do! Kazunari goes out clothes shopping with Kumon, only for everything to be confiscated by Yuki anyway for adjustments. Muku goes about decorating the dorms and Sakyo almost says something against it, but in the end even he can't say no. Tenma pretends that he isn't excited for the upcoming festival, but everyone knows that he looks up Tanabata activities on his phone when he thinks no one's looking.

July 7th comes around, and the evening finds the group standing in front of the MANKAI dorms, all dressed up and ready to go.

"I'll lead!" Kumon blurts out when they start walking. "I already know where it is, and. Um."

He doesn't say it, but his eyes drift towards Tenma, who starts spluttering. But Tenma doesn't get much of a reprieve, because Kumon starts practically speed-walking down the street. Of course, they all knew Kumon was athletic, but to actually see it in action…?!

Everyone rushes to catch up, and that's why they feel rather than see the festival approaching. There's the extra scents of oil and smoke in the air, every color just looks a  _ little _ brighter, people's voices sound more lively than usual. It seems to have an effect on Summer Troupe as well - they walk just a little faster, their postures just a little more relaxed. The plan was to have everyone stick together, but.

It wouldn't be Summer without a little chaos, and chaos is what they get. Kumon and Misumi disappear right when they enter the festival grounds (preceded by Misumi's excited "ah!" and Kumon's slightly more startled one). Yuki gets distracted by the merchandise stalls, Muku gets lost somewhere in the food merchants.

Soon, it's just Tenma and Kazunari left. Tenma just continues walking, so taken by his surroundings that he doesn't even notice the group splitting up until he's turning around with Kumon's name on his lips.

"Huh - where is everyone?!?" Tenma almost yells, turning to Kazunari with a hint of panic in his eyes.

_ It's almost cute,  _ Kazunari thinks,  _ how much he really cares _ . "Don't worry, don't worry!" he says out loud. "We've all got our phones, don't we? Easy fix!"

* * *

**KAZUNARI MIYOSHI☆:** heyyy, where did everyone go??? tenten's worrying himself sick!!

**Tenma Sumeragi:** Ah? Am not!

**Muku:** Sorry for making you all worry!! I was trying to decide what to get for myself and what to bring back for Ju-chan, and then I turned around and you were gone...if only I had paid more attention…..

**KAZUNARI MIYOSHI☆:** ehhh, mukkun! no worries at all! i was just thinking, we should all meet back up somewhere for the main event. it's a once-a-year chance, i don't wanna miss being there with you guys TT^TT

**Kumon:** Ok! Where should we meet? I'll start directing Sumi-san towards the right place!

**Tenma Sumeragi:** I think I saw a stairway leading up to where most people are hanging their tanzaku. Meet us there before the sun sets.

**Yuki:** Try not to get lost on the way there, first.

**Yuki:** I'll be there in fifteen.

**Kumon:** Gotcha!

**Muku:** See you guys soon!

* * *

In the end, everyone else gets there first.   


Tenma lets out a shout of victory when the stairway is in sight, only to visibly deflate when he notices a familiar group loitering nearby and chatting. A splotch of blue and green separates, turns towards Tenma, and yells "you're late, hack!"

"It was hard getting through the crowds, ok!" Tenma splutters. "Hey, how much time do we have before the fireworks start?"

"Dunno, but it's not dark yet, so probably not anytime soon. Hey - "

Yuki nudges Muku, whose face takes on an almost comical expression of shock. "Oh! I-I have something for you guys before we go!" Muku blurts out, holding up one of his plastic bags like he's making an offering. "Here...I got takoyaki for everyone! I thought we would all be hungry, so we can eat when it's less crowded. Unless anyone wants theirs right now…?"

Tenma's and Misumi's hands shoot up. Muku's eyes widen, then he grins, then he digs through his bag to produce two plates. Misumi's downed the entire plate by the time that Tenma finishes his second takoyaki ("Triangle hunting is harder than it looks, guys!" Kumon whines in the background), but Tenma thinks he wants to savor the experience a little more. So his plan is to eat slower - which is, of course, immediately thrown off track by his left arm linking with Misumi's right and his right arm linking with Kazunari's left.   


"It's so we don't get lost again!" Kazunari winks, and, okay. It makes sense. But that doesn't mean that Tenma won't sulk a  _ little _ over not being able to eat.   


And then, right when they've all gotten settled and are ready to climb up the stairs, Misumi gets a  _ glint  _ in his eyes. He tugs them all to a stop, stops to consider for a moment, and nods.

"Come on, come on! This way!"

Misumi darts left suddenly, seemingly forgetting that their arms are still linked. So - Tenma yelps, barely holding his plate of takoyaki steady; Kazunari steps on the back of Tenma's sandals; the younger three members go flying like the tail in a game of Snake. They rush through the crowd like this for what seems like forever, dodging pedestrians and vendors by the skin of their teeth, until Misumi makes a satisfied noise and stops as suddenly as he had started.

"So...what is this?" Tenma says in as pleasant a voice as he can manage after bearing the full weight of four troupe members. "I thought we were going to just going to make our wishes at the tree in the main square?"

Misumi shakes his head vigorously. "No-pe! Wouldn't it be nice if we had our own place?Just for Summer~!"

And he points at a nearby tree - old-looking and shaped like a bonsai, but still healthy - and pulls out a handful of tanzaku from the bottomless sleeves of his yukata.

...Really, that just raises more questions (what else could be hiding in those sleeves?) But Kazunari and Muku can only look on in amusement and fondness (and a touch of anxiety, in Muku's case) as the fight over the tiny slips of paper begins.   


Somehow, the tanzaku do get evenly distributed in the end. They all take turns using each other's backs as writing surfaces, squinting in the fading sunlight. Finally, when Kumon's hanging his last slip of paper on the decently crowded tree, a  _ boom  _ resonates through the air.   


"Kumon! Everyone, look!" Misumi yells excitedly, finger pointing at a clearing in the sky. Six heads turn and fixate on that spot, waiting for the main event of the night.

_ Boom. Boom. Boom.  _ Three in a row, in three different corners, making Misumi smile. The rest of the takoyaki gets passed around, as well as little trinkets, good-luck charms, and various triangle-shaped goods from Yuki, Kazunari, and Misumi respectively. They're not setting off any fireworks of their own, this time, but the atmosphere is the same.

Warm. Comfortable. Home.

_ I hope I can celebrate Tanabata again with these five people, _ Kazunari thinks before he swings his arms around Muku's and Tenma's shoulders and falls, bringing them all crashing onto the ground with him.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> come find me on twitter @augustenian !!!


End file.
